by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni
HE scene is a part of the group of three scenes related to the Creation of the World, with the Separation of Light from Darkness and the Creation of Sun, Moon and Plants. The sequential order of the Biblical text would see the separation of the earth from the waters as a second story, set on the second day, but the larger box was reserved for the Creation of the Sun and Moon (the third and fourth day of creation) a major box, thus breaking the “historical” succession.
In these three scenes the Eternal is represented as flying over boundless spaces, wrapped in the wide pinkish cloak. The unitary conception of the three scenes has hinted at an allusion to the Trinity, but it is more likely that one can read an allegory derived from the texts of St. Augustine linked respectively to the work carried out by the Church in the world (waters and earth), the second coming of Christ (stars and plants) and the final Judgment (darkness and light).
(Source: Wikipedia)